Persistance
by dracodormiensnunquam
Summary: Celeste is faced with a frightening predicament during her fourth year at Hogwarts - a game of Love and War. It doesn't help that the two objects of her affection happen to be arch enemies - and one of them is competing in the Triwizard Tournament.
1. Chapter 1

Draco paused, his hand clenching the white, marble banister of one of the many moving staircases. She was talking to _him._ Of all people - Potter? He was a Gryffindor! An enemy! What did she think she was doing?

"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you later Harry. Thanks for the advice." Celeste smiled at her friend, receiving a mischevious grin in return.

As she strode through the tall archway that promised a route to the classrooms that occupied the dungeons, Celeste remarked upon Harry's recent behaviour. Although she was a Slytherin and Harry a Gryffindor, the pair had always been close friends, since they had been next door neighbours back on Privet Drive in Little Whinging. She had been Harry's only friend, and she knew him like the back of her hand. They'd always managed to keep their friendship low-key whilst at Hogwarts, as both of them feared the opinion's of their other, more ignorant house-mates - in particular, Draco Malfoy, a student in Slytherin whom Harry wholly insisted was "Mildly infatuated" with Celeste. Of this fact, Celeste was not bothered; the Slytherin Prince had never been particularly unpleasant towards her, and she had gained quite the reputation from being the "Object of the Snakes Affection." In all honesty, Celeste refused to even acknowledge Draco having any feelings towards her other than those of friendship.

Celeste wondered what had been bothering her friend so. Recently, he had become quiet, reserved; as though, when they spoke, a part of him was far away, in a place that she could not reach. She supposed it was something to do with the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. Fred and George Weasley, close friends of both Harry and herself, intended on participating in the tournament. Harry was probably just worried about them, she contended. What other reason would he have to be worrying?

"Cel! Hey!" A voice as rich and sweet as honey called to her from down the hall - Poppy.

"Poppy, I was wondering where you'd gotten to. You weren't at breakfast." Celeste smiled at her Ravenclaw friend, who appeared to have dyed her hair electric blue in honour of her house and the upcoming festivities.

"Overslept a bit... was up late reading about 17th century muggle pirates. Oh! That reminds me! I need to return my book to the library -"

"We'll go later," Celeste interrupted, straightening her emerald and silver striped Slytherin tie. "I'm going to the library anyway. I told Luna that I'd meet her. We have things to discuss."

"Oh, yeah! She mentioned something about that this morning before she went to breakfast. I guess I'll just go with Neville instead - he wanted help with his charms work anyway." Poppy beamed one of her contagious smiles as the pair made their way to advanced potions with Professor Snape.

"Late again, Miss Warwick." Snape said as Poppy and Celeste attempted to sneak into the potions classroom. Evidently, they had failed at doing so. "Five points from Ravenclaw. Ah, Miss Starborne, I see you have joined Miss Warwick in her antics. How... disappointing. Let this be your first warning."

Celeste watched as Poppy rolled her eyes at Professor Snape's blatant house discrimination. They turned to take their regular seats in the back row near the ingredients cupboard - only to find they had been occupied by other students. The only other seats available were next to either Luna Lovegood or Draco Malfoy. Poppy looked to her best friend in panic.

"Where do we sit?" she mouthed. Celeste shrugged as Snape looked up over his paperwork boredly.

"Starborne, Warwick, I would suggest that the pair of you take a seat. We wouldn't want detention the night that we are all due to meet the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, now, would we?"

Celeste sighed and motioned for Poppy to take the seat next to Luna. She couldn't bring herself to deny her friend the oppurtunity to sit with her crush. As for Draco... well, Celeste just prayed that she would make it through the lesson unscathed.

Malfoy smirked as Celeste begrudgingly perched herself beside him. Just one glance at his smug expression gave Celeste a strong urge to hex him.

"Looks like today, we're going to be partners, Starborne. I'm sure we will make an _excellent_ team."

Celeste had never particularly seen the romatic allure of Draco Malfoy. Sure, he was handsome - especially that day. His usually slicked back, white-blonde hair was tousled and messy; his eyes gleamed a sly silver, the dimming fire of the lanterns that lit the room dancing in his irises; his jaw-line looked sharp enough to slice bread. He looked tired, the skin around his eyes unnaturally dark in comparison with his ghostly pale complexion. If Celeste had to describe his appearance that day in one word, she would say restless.

Despite his good looks, Draco had a reputation for dropping his love interests rather quickly. He was so childish that Celeste doubted that he'd ever be able to take a relationship seriously.

She noticed that he had already made a start on concocting the love potion that they had been instructed to brew. Sneaking a glace at Luna and Poppy's potion, she observed a thick, creamy pink liquid. Her's and Draco's brew, however, was an acid green, and smelled strongly of vomit.

"Draco... I think we ought to start again."

Malfoy shrugged, leaning back in his chair, already bored. "Fine. I'll observe."

Celeste groaned at Malfoys laziness, tipping away the lumpy green potion and putting her own couldron in its place. She got to work, gently chopping up roots and crushing dirigible plums, adding them all to the mix. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Draco raise an eyebrow as he watched her work.

Before she knew it, her potion was completed. It had a deep red colouration, and upon looking into the couldron, Celeste noticed smoke beginning rise, forming into the shape of a love heart. She sat back in her seat, proud of her work, enjoying the smell of summer bonfires and ocean spray that flooded her nostrils.

"Ah, Miss Starborne. Redeemed yourself, have you?" Snape inquired, leaning over her work. "This looks... beyond adequate. Well done Starborne, Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin."

Celeste stifled a giggle at the collective moan from the students of the other houses. She met Hermiones playful glare from across the room, offering her a wide, toothy grin in response. Hermione sighed, rolled her eyes, and gave her friend an exhausted smile.

"Well done, Celeste!" a high pitched, Irish voice spoke as Celeste cleared her things, ready to go to the Great Hall for lunch. "Surprising you managed to focus, you have so many nargles in that head of yours. Daddy wrote an article about them in the Quibbler, I was just telling Poppy about it actually." Luna smiled, pushing what appeared to be a pair of bright pink, horn-rimmed muggle three-D glasses further up her nose.

"It seems very interesting," Poppy chimed in, appearing next to Luna. Celeste stifled a laugh at her friends awkwardness.

"Well, thank you Luna. I'll pick up the Quibbler when I can - but I best be off now. See you in the library."

The cool, dark, glass-like surface of the Black Lake was calm and still, entirely unaffected by the light snow that had began to settle on the Hogwarts grounds. Hogwarts looked like an icy palace, and all of its towers appeared to have been bleached white. Lessons for the rest of the day had been cancelled, leavings students to do whatever they pleased until dinner, when they would finally be acquainted with the ladies of Beauxbatons and the brave students of Durmstrang.

Celeste huddled in her usual thinking spot, a branch high up in a tall tree near the Shrieking Shack. From there, she had a clear view of the grounds; Hagrids Hut, The Forbidden Forest, the Black Lake, the entrance to Hogsmeade, and of course, the castle itself. The best part about her little hiding place was that none of her friends (though she loved them all dearly) knew where it was. The old tree was in such close proximity with the Shrieking Shack that students rarely came by - making it perfect for when she needed some alone time.

Sighing, Celeste brushed a dusting of snow from her soft, winter cloak. She loved her home at Hogwarts, but sometimes, things just got a little too tiring. Repetitive. Tedious. She supposed that this Triwizard Tournament would provide a nice change in atmosphere... although she, like most Slytherins, tended to become bored of things rather easily. She hoped that this would be the start of something exciting.

"Ah hem."

Celeste almost fell out of her tree in surprise when she saw Draco Malfoy sat on a rock below, motioning for her to climb down and meet him. His hair was strewn about his face in the bitter scottish wind, though most of it was covered by an emerald coloured hat that had the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the front. Celeste cocked an eyebrow, slightly peeved that he had intruded upon her sacred place.

"How did you know I'd be here?" She called down to him, trying to mask the anger in her voice.

Malfoy bit his lip, unsure whether to tell her the truth. No; telling her that Crabbe and Goyle had been stalking her for the past month just sounded creepy. He decided he would play it cool.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." Malfoy grinned lopsidedly, twirling his wand in a circular motion and conjuring a bouqet of white roses. Hesitantly, Celeste climbed down from her perch.

"What are these for?" She asked, slightly awestruck. The flowers smelled of white chocolate and Christmas morning.

"A token." Malfoy said simply.

"Well, they're beautiful. Thank you Draco." Celeste smiled, giving Malfoy's hand a quick squeeze before checking her watch. She was due to meet Luna in less than ten minutes.

"Oh, god, look at the time. I'm sorry Draco... I have to go..."

"Where to?" Malfoy asked, his usual, sly façade back in place.

"The library. I'm meeting Luna."

"I'm walking you." Malfoy stated.

Celeste couldn't help but admire the beauty of Hogwarts in the winter months. Christmas decorations had already began to be hung about the school and grounds; Celeste watched as Hagrid, the school's groundskeeper, dragged a Christmas tree double his size across the snowy lawn, Fang bounding along behind him. Draco looked at Celeste with admiration. Only she could find beauty in something so demure as a flurry of snow. He wondered, momentarily, if she would be able to find beauty in someone as arrogant as him. He pushed the thought from his mind; he was Draco Malfoy, prestiged pureblood. A simple half-blood girl like her ought to count herself lucky to have him.

"What are you thinking about?" Celeste narrowed her eyes at Draco, who seemed to have acquired a permanent scowl on his face as they approached the castles main entrance.

"Nothing that concerns you." He snapped.

Celeste raised her eyebrows as they stepped over the threshold, before gesturing to a nearby staircase.

"I'll be off then. Thanks for the flowers, I guess."

Draco watched as she ascended the steps, a feeling of regret bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He needed to learn how to control himself around her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh! Celeste, there you are! I was just going to ask Pansy Parkinson to go check if you were in your dormitory." Luna said airily, as Celeste took her seat next to Hermione and opposite Ron at their small, library table.

"Well then," Hermione said finally, breaking the silence. "Does anyone have the faintest clue as to what has gotten into Harry lately?"

Everyone fell silent, deep in thought. Celeste wondered idly whether she ought to bring up her Fred and George theory - but quickly decided that she would not, as the others might find it silly. Ron scratched at the stubble on his chin. Luna sat, her blue eyes wide, waiting for someone to speak.

"Um, well, he's been writing to Sirius a lot. He doesn't really like talking about it though. Think he's just been a bit spooked since the Quidditch World Cup." Ron rushed, a soft blush tinging his freckled cheeks a pale pink as the eyes of the three girls fell upon him.

"Hmm... yes, yes that would make sense. He's probably been writing to Sirius more in order to get things off his chest - you know how Harry is, he's probably trying to keep us from worrying." Hermione concluded.

Everyone seemed happy enough with this theory - except for Celeste. She couldn't help but feel as though something was just _missing_. Harry had been through his fair share of traumatic experiences in his lifetime, and he'd _always_ managed to find time to confide in Celeste about them. Why hadn't he this time?

"You alright Cel? You look a little pale." Luna observed.

She felt Hermione and Ron's eyes snap to her face.

"Oh, n-no, Luna, I'm fine. I just remembered, I left something in my dorm."

Celeste stood abruptly, grabbing her potions, D.A.D.A and herbology books from the table, ready to run off and hide somewhere to think. She knew she couldn't go back to her tree now that it had been compromised. Ron also arose from his seat.

"I'll come with you," he said brightly, avoiding eye contact with Celeste, blush intensifying. "H'mione, we'll meet you and Luna out by the Quidditch pitch when she's, uhm, done."

Celeste shrugged, walking swiftly towards the door with Ron in tow.

"Here, I'll, uh, carry your books for you," Ron said, taking all six of her books from her arms as they made their way towards the moving staircases.

"You do realise that the Slytherin common room is in the dungeons, right? You're gonna be carrying those books for a while." Celeste said, smirking at an already struggling Ron as they descended their first flight of stairs.

"Umf - that's - fine," he panted, trying to match the Slytherin girls pace. "Anything - for a pretty girl - like you,"

When they finally made it down the last staircase and into the dungeons, Ron sighed with relief - and, in the process, managed to drop all of Celeste's books. She began to laugh to herself as she reached down to help her friend gather the books, when she suddenly saw Draco Malfoy walking down the corridor, glaring at her intently. Well, he seemed to have changed his attitude towards her entirely in the past few hours.

"Blood traitor," he spat as he neared the pair, who were now standing, and fully recovered. Celeste noticed Ron's ears redden at the words.

Making sure she had complete eye-contact with Draco, Celeste leaned closer to Ron, and gently planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Ron's face was as red as his hair.

"Thank you so much for your help, Ron," she giggled, slowly breaking her eye-contact with Draco.

First Potter - now _Weasley_? What was her game? Malfoy began to wonder if she felt anything towards him at all. He glared at her and the blood traitor coldly as he walked past them, unwilling to give the girl the satisfaction of seeing him hurt.

"Ah, there we go, got my scarf and gloves." Celeste called to Ron as she left the Slytherin common room.

Ron was leaning against the cold, grey stone walls just opposite the common room, and upon hearing her voice, ran a hand through his autumn-coloured hair, straightening his lanky body. Celeste was positive that he simply _must_ be at least six-foot-three, being five-foot-seven herself.

"Right, best go see the others, then." He muttered, falling into step beside her.

As they ascended the staircase that would lead them to Hogwarts' main entrance, Celeste couldn't help but wonder what those words Draco said had actually meant... "Blood Traitor". She had a brief internal argument with herself over whether she should ask Ron what it meant - she wanted to know what it meant, but she also didn't want to hurt her ex-boyfriend's feelings.

"You alright?" Ron said, causing her to lose her train of thought as they took their first step out of the castle. "You look like you've got a headache or something. Wait - you didn't take any jellybeans from Fred and George, did you?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Celeste laughed, putting on her scarf and gloves. "I was just - uh - I just wanted to ask you a question."

"What?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Well... I was wondering, um, what's a blood traitor?"

Ron stopped mid-step, sighing heavily before turning in her direction. "Right. Well, its a sort of nickname that people like the Malfoys give to people like me and my family - pure bloods who associate themselves with half-bloods, muggle-borns and that." Ron said, voice laden with poison. "People that aren't spoilt little stuck up-"

"Cel! Ron!" Harry called from the Quidditch standa, interrupting Ron mid-sentence. Celeste saw that he was accompanied by Luna, Hermione, Neville and Poppy in the Ravenclaw section.

"Harry!" She called back, running over to her friend and enveloping him in a tight hug.

She hadn't noticed the bubble of worry that had been growing in her chest over him, until it had popped just then. Celeste pulled away, smiling, as Harry motioned for her to take the seat besides him, Ron sitting down between Hermione and Poppy.

She could almost feel Ginny's cold glare before she saw her. Ginny had hated Celeste ever since she had learned that her and Harry were friends - she had began to detest her when she broke up with Ron last summer. Ginny didn't understand that Celeste _had_ to break up with Ron. She would have lost Hermione's friendship otherwise.

Harry's hand gently squeezed her shoulder as he draped it around her (creating a much more agitated Ginny Weasley). Everyone seemed to have immersed themselves in discussion about the foreign students, leaving her and Harry to have their own conversation.

"Heard that Draco Malfoy gave you a bouquet of white roses." Harry said, his sea-foam green eyes filled with mischief as he struggled to hide his mocking smile.

"Wha - How on earth did you know that?" Celeste said, flustered. Now it seemed that not only one, but _two_ people knew where her tree was - was she really that easy to track?

Then she noticed the marauders map sticking out of his inside pocket. Ah. So he'd followed her.

"Oh you know... with some help from Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot and Prongs." He winked. How long had he been following her there?

"Ugh, just don't tell anyone okay. Its weird."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he smiled, rousling her coppery locks. She gave him a mock frown, and punched his arm lightly.

"So... what's going on with you? Ron said you've been writing to Padfoot a lot lately..." Celeste said, as Harry looked down to the Quidditch pitch where it appeared that the Hufflepuff team were about to practice.

"Oh, you know. Stuff. He's updating me on Buckbeak, letting me know how he's doing. Apparently, the ministry are checking peoples owl post now... so I'm going to need to be more careful."

Celeste was quite relieved that it was that simple. No scar pain. No visions; just Sirius.

"Victor Krum? You can't be serious!" Celeste's attention turned to Ron's loud shout.

"That's what I heard. Goes to Durmstrang." Neville repeated, grinning at Ron's reaction.

"He's got to be the best Quidditch player in the world - you remember him at the World Cup, right, Harry?" Ron said, gazing up at the clouds dreamily.

"Oh yeah, he's amazing stuff," said Harry sarcastically, as the whole group attempted to control their giggles at Ron's little crush.

"It's not funny! He's brilliant!" Ron argued, seeming put out. Hermione patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Looking down at the pitch, it seemed as though the Slytherin Quidditch team had also come out to practice with the Hufflepuff's. Celeste let her eyes wander until they finally rested upon Draco's tall, statuesque figure. He was Quidditch team captain, and appeared to be partaking in a heated conversation with the Hufflepuff captain. As though feeling her stare, he turned, looking up at her podium.

Harry noticed too. He tried to keep his face calm and steady - her flirtation with Malfoy only bothered him because he viewed her as a sister. Plus, Malfoy was his enemy. That was the only reason why, he told himself. It was the only reason he would allow himself to believe.

"Gosh, would you look at the time. We'll be late to the feast!" Hermione said suddenly. Celeste checked her watch; at this rate, she would only have half an hour to shower and get ready. The group all hurried toward the castle, curious about what was about to come.

As Celeste rushed into the dungeons, practically running for the Slytherin common room, she saw her close friend and room-mate Millicent Bulstrode. They walked together toward the common room, and Millicent spoke animatedly about Blaise Zabini.

"He's just so cute, Cel," She said, half twirling as they stepped into the practically empty common room. "We flirted all through Transfiguration. He's taking me to the Three Broomsticks this weekend, can you believe it?"

"Wow, I told you he liked you." Celeste smiled at her friend as they walked up to the girls dorm.

"I never believed it was true! I just didn't think I was his type... I was never Draco's type... but Blaise says I'm definitely his. Isn't that great?"

The way that Milly was acting, it almost seemed as though she'd been put under a love potion.

"So great. Anyway, Mills, I'm going to get ready for dinner. Meet you in the common room when you're ready?"

"Okay, okay. See you in a bit!" Millicent beamed, flouncing off to her room.

Celeste paced around the common room, waiting for Millicent. She had taken a full twenty minutes so far, whereas Celeste herself had only taken ten to shower and change into fresh robes.

Finally, Celeste decided to take a seat, moving toward the plush, green velvet seteé that sat in front of the fireplace. Startled, she suddenly noticed a tall, blonde figure stood by the window - Malfoy.

"Cel! I'm ready!" Milly yelled, bursting into the common room, causing Draco to turn and stare at the pair of them. Celeste felt her face burn red as she linked arms with Millicent.

"Right, then. Lets go to dinner." Celeste mumbled, aware of Draco's eyes gliding up and down her body as they exited the common room.

The Great Hall had been decorated especially for the foreign visitors. Behind the headmasters chair, two large banners had been hung; one baring the Beauxbatons emblem, the other the Durmstrang Crest. An excited bubble of conversation hung in the warm air, as students discussed their thoughts on the foreign students.

Celeste looked at the enchanted ceiling as her and Millicent took their usual seats at the head of the Slytherin table, by the teachers area. It was a beautiful galaxy that night, a thousand stars twinkling above, not a cloud to be seen. This had always been Celeste's favourite aspect of Hogwarts; it just made everything seem that much more magical.

"May I have your attention please," Dumbledore began, and Celeste tuned out, searching along the table for Draco.

There he was, sat between Pansy and Blaise. He was staring at the ceiling, clearly not listening to Pansy as she droned on about whatever she was talking about, running her hands all over him. Draco caught her looking just as she rolled her eyes at Pansy's behaviour. She could've sworn she'd seen him smirk.

Suddenly, Celeste's attention was taken by the flock of blonde girls in baby blue uniforms flooding through the doors. She saw Malfoy and Zabini's eyes widen at the sight of them, as they flurried around on stage, batting their eyelashes and twirling long ropes of silver ribbon.

"Ugh. I hate them already." She heard Millicent mutter, flicking her long, straight black hair behind her shoulder. Celeste laughed.

"I do feel like I'll be having a lot more competition with them around," She agreed.

The rest of the feast ran rather smoothly. Next was a performance from the students of the Durmstrang Insitute, which involved staffs and a lot of shouting. Many girls were sighing and gazing at Victor dreamily - among them was Ron Weasley. Not surprising.

Celeste caught eye contact with Harry from across the room, who wiggled his eyebrows in response. She already had a good feeling about this year.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco was barely even pretending to acknowledge Pansy's excited exclamations as he lead her through the entrance to the Slytherin common room. He wasn't a hundred per cent certain that Celeste would be in the common room - for all he knew, she could have still been at dinner, or even already tucked up in her dormitory - but his intuition told him he was in with a good chance. This would show her that _nobody_ messes with a Malfoy, emotionally or physically.

As he ducked his head into the small, dimly lit common room, he was shocked to find it almost completely empty - but for one silhouette, sat on a chaise sofa in front of the fireplace. Next to her sat a fat cat, one that could only belong to Millicent Bulstrode. Draco wondered idly whether it was indeed Bulstrode sat before the fire, before resolving that the silhouette looked far too pensive to be Milly's. No, of course... it was _her_.

Almost as though she had heard her name mentioned inside of his head, Celeste turned her head, raking in Draco's rugged form. She moved to stand up, but the site of Pansy jumping through the secret entrance after Malfoy quickly halted her. Draco smirked.

"Come, Pansy, let's go to my room. There's no... _privacy_ in here."

His eyes quickly searched Celeste's face for any signs of jealousy, any signs that she cared. He almost saw a flicker of jealousy in her harsh green eyes, but the bored look that followed soon made him question whether he had in fact imagined it.

"Malfoy. Parkinson," She said curtly, reclaiming her seat in front of the fireplace as though nothing had happened.

As the pair strolled through the passageway leading to the boys dormitories, Draco groaned internally. Celeste knew he was playing games, and being a Slytherin... well, let's just say Draco knew that this competition was bound to be an intense one. On top of this, he now had to take Pansy Parkinson, the ugliest, most piggish girl in the whole of Slytherin, up to his bedroom. He found himself desperately searching his mind for a way out, some kind of excuse -

"I know you don't want me, Draco." Pansy's voice interrupted his train of thought. She rested her hand on his arm. "You want her... and I don't mind. I do want you, of course, but not whilst you want somebody else."

Sighing with relief, Draco regarded her cautiously. She didn't seem angry, only forlorn. Whatever, she'd still unknowingly helped him in his plan. What did he care if she got hurt? It was only Parkinson after all.

"Okay," Draco said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, go on, then." He rolled his eyes as she scurried to the girls dormitories.

Sighing, Malfoy turned to his room, the room he shared with Blaise Zabini. Initially, Draco had been put with Goyle... but he soon grew tired of his loud snoring and late night snacking. He'd made a fair deal, swapping Goyle for Zabini, and Crabbe seemed truly pleased to be sharing with Goyle. Their friendship still remained a mystery to Draco.

Nonetheless, he hoped that Blaise was not in their room at this instant. Draco needed time to think, to plot, to plan. He would show Starborne just how expendable she really was - after all, he was Draco Malfoy; practically every girl in Slytherin would do his bidding at the click of his fingers - so, why would he be so especially interested in someone so mundane as Celeste Starborne?

Because she's _different,_ a strange voice in his head whispered. She's _pretty_. No; she's _beautiful,_ and she's good at potions -

That's beside the point, Draco quickly concluded. He could have anyone. Lots of girls were good at potions. Bloody _Granger_ was good at potions. Nothing about Celeste made her any more special than that mudblood Gryffindor.

There was only one thing Draco knew he had as an advantage - Celeste's parentage. As far as he knew, he was the only student in Hogwarts that knew of her family's dark history. How her father, Crocket Starborne, was a former deatheater; how he had helped with the plot to kill Lily and James Potter. If Harry were ever to find out that information... why, Draco could not even begin to imagine the look on his face.

Though, even for Draco, this was a tad too harsh, and it would definitely not do him any favours. After all, he wanted to _get with her_ \- not make her hate him. Not yet, anyway - that would come later on.

He would start by making her jealous... the only nuisance was figuring out who would make her the most angry. Parkinson was clearly a no. Millicent was with Blaise - and he could not double cross his roommate, whom he had to practically live with and sleep next to for the next few years. Luna would never agree to a date, and nor would Granger or Ginny. That only left...

Of course! Poppy! How could he not have thought of it in the first place - he would be the best boyfriend Poppy Warwick had ever had, he would buy her books, jewellery, flowers - and out of "concern" for her friend, Celeste would attempt to persuade her to break up with him - thus deteriorating their friendship and leaving Starborne entirely isolated...

...and Slytherin's are always most dangerous when isolated.

It was a bleak Monday morning. The sky looked a murky grey, with thick, gluttonous clouds obscuring the sun from view. Snow was melting beneath student's feet, the grounds slick with slush and ice, resulting in Madame Pomfrey having a very busy day indeed.

No matter how hard Celeste tried to concentrate on Professor Moody's demonstration of the three unforgiveable curses, she just couldn't manage it. At the back of her mind, she heard her classmates exclamations of fear and excitement and shock, but she was more focused on the back of Draco Malfoy's head. He had sent Poppy a note at the beginning of class, and charmed it to fly to her in the form of an origami swan. She was beginning to regret starting this "game" with Draco, for she knew he would not rest until he had won. What the brat needed to learn was that in the real world, not everyone always get's what they want.

Celeste was so immersed in her own private thought bubble that she yelped in surprise when Professor Moody made his spider dance on her head. "That's what you get for paying more attention to Mr. Malfoy than my lesson, Starborne!" he exclaimed, glass eye whirling as he directed his spider unto Draco's laughing face.

She felt herself flood scarlet as Harry's piercing green eyes fell upon her.

"What's up?" He nudged her gently, subtly motioning to Draco.

"I did something bad," She whispered. "We're competing."

"That's not so bad, I always compete with that git - and I always win."

"It's a different kind of competition," Celeste mumbled, feeling her ears burn as Draco turned to lock eyes with Poppy. Something about their eye contact seemed so intimate, so entirely inappropriate for a D.A.D.A lesson, that Celeste had to resist the urge to throw up there and then.

"Oh," Harry said in realisation. "He's trying to make you jealous?"

"Sort of," Celeste responded. "He wants to make me feel insignificant, like I don't matter. He wants proof that I care about him."

"You matter," Harry said quickly, dropping his eyes to the table. "I mean, everyone matters - and hey, it's not like you have to compete in the TriWizard Tournament." Harry laughed uncomfortably.

Celeste had almost forgotten that he was competing.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ugh, I can't believe him," hissed Loreli Stormwood as she and Celeste took their seats at the Slytherin table for dinner. "Typical bloody Malfoy. I just feel bad for that Ravenclaw girl, you know."

"It's funny, for the past two years she hasn't stopped talking about Luna Lovegood. I don't understand how a crush as developed as that can just disappear,"

Loreli rolled her eyes in response, piling her plate with burgers and chips. She was one of Celeste's only other female friends in Slytherin, and the pair had quickly bonded in the first year, over having ex-deatheater parents and an ambition to prove themselves better than their family name.

"You haven't seen Milly around, have you?" Celeste said through a mouthful of spinach, scanning the table for her roommate.

"She's gone." Blaise's voice interrupted. Celeste's eyes snapped to his.

"Gone?"

Zabini rummaged around in his pockets, finally producing a news paper clipping, and pushing it towards the two girls. The headline read:

 **"MURDER OF BULSTRODE FAMILY, AURORS STILL LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE."**

"Millicent's now only living relative is her great-aunt May, who lives in Paris, France... so she's enrolling at Beauxbatons. Madame Maxime flew her out to the school after D.A.D.A this morning." Blaise said gruffly, eyes dropping to his plate of spaghetti.

"Do you think it was You-Know-Who?" Loreli said, her voice barely a whisper. Blaise slowly lifted his dark, coffee-brown eyes to meet hers.

"I'm certain of it." He said softly, dropping his fork in his hardly-touched pasta and proceeding to exit the great hall.

Loreli, whom Celeste had never known to blush in her whole life, had now developed a pink-ish tinge to her cheeks. It was understandable. After all, Blaise could be rather intense at times, and he did tend to have this effect on people quite often.

Celeste's eyes slid over to where Malfoy was sat, and he had apparently managed to get Poppy to sit there with him too. As she watched, he leant over to softly whisper something in Poppy's ear, resulting in a soft giggle escaping her lips. Celeste seethed, looking away before Draco noticed that he had received her attention.

She instead let her eyes wander to Harry. She'd been meaning to speak with him all day - tomorrow he was competing in his first trial, and he'd found out from Hagrid that he would be battling a dragon. Celeste knew he must be feeling stressed - why, what sane person wouldn't be? - and desperately wanted to console her friend. She jumped in surprise when they suddenly made eye contact.

"Meet me after?" he mouthed. Celeste nodded discreetly in response, watching as he turned to engage in conversation with Katie Bell, a fellow member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

" _Please_ don't tell me you're still friend's with the Potter Posse." Loreli groaned as she ate her final chip, before pushing her plate away and stretching her arms out above her head. "You're worth more than Gryffindor's, Cel."

"I've always been friends with Harry - and what about Emma? She's not Slytherin, she's friends with Harry and Hermione. She's bloody well dating Cormac McLaggen, the most Gryffindor-ish Gryffindor you can find. Are you saying we shouldn't be friends with her?"

"No," Stormwood muttered, gathering her things to head back to the dormitories. "You coming?"

"In a bit. You go on ahead... I, um, want to talk to Snape about who's moving into my room now that Millicent is gone."

Celeste watched as her friend caught up with Malfoy, Blaise and Poppy, the four of them exiting the great hall together. She felt a twang of jealousy attack her chest - it was as though Poppy was replacing her entirely, which was a silly thought to have, as Poppy was the loveliest and most thoughtful person she had ever met. How was she even to know of Celeste's potential feelings for Draco? All she'd ever done was complain about him in Warwick's presence.

"Ready, then?" Harry smiled down at Celeste, who was surprised to see that the great hall was now almost entirely empty.

"Yes. Library?"

"Sure."

The pair walked in comfortable silence to the Hogwarts library. Everything always felt so natural with Harry, so perfect. She could never imagine Harry putting her through the rubbish that Malfoy managed to on a daily basis. The only issue was her parents. Harry would never be safe if he were with Celeste. The dark lord was rising again; everyone could sense it... and when he did, the loyalty of Celeste's parents would be unwavering. They'd use their daughter's relationship with Harry to their advantage - which was why it was better that they remained just friends. Harry would be much better off without a "baby deatheater", as he called them, in his life.

Of course, Harry himself knew nothing of the darker aspect to Celeste's parentage. He knew only that they were a nice, friendly couple who lived next to his aunt and uncle, and that he was frequently left with them whenever the Dursley's had plans. He'd never expected any different, for he always saw the best in people - a quality that Celeste was certain would amount to his downfall.

"What is it, Harry?" She asked softly as the pair each took a seat by the window in the Hogwarts library.

"Well, you know, the first trial is tomorrow, and I have no idea what I'm doing. How the bloody hell do I fight a dragon?" Harry said exasperatedly.

"Ah. Well, that's a tricky one," Celeste said. "Is Ron still not talking to you?"

"No, he still thinks I put my name in that effing goblet." Harry rolled his eyes, raking a hand through his jet-black hair in a distressed manor. "How can he honestly think I'd _want_ this?"

"I don't know," Celeste responded apologetically. "Have you spoken to any teachers or-"

"Of course I have," Harry interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Hagrid refused to tell me anything else, though. Thought I had an unfair enough advantage as it is."

"Well, you do have an advantage. You know what's coming." Celeste said, reaching out to hold Harry's hand. He stared out into the night. "I believe in you, Harry. It'll all be alright, you wait and see."

Celeste barely slept that night - all she could do was worry about Harry... worry about who had put his name in that Goblet... wonder how he would fare in his trial the following day. She had almost forgotten about Draco Malfoy and his game completely when she got a knock on her bedroom door.

"Celeste?" A voice called. She opened the door hesitantly.

"Oh, Loreli. What is it?"

"I thought you knew - Snape says I'm sharing the room with you now."

.~

The Great Hall was eerily silent at breakfast the next day, some faces grim, some excited. Celeste had managed to seat herself beside Harry at the Gryffindor table, and the pair were accompanied by Hermione, Emma, Luna, Poppy, Neville and Cormac. Harry was barely touching his bacon sandwich.

"You need to eat something, Harry," Celeste spoke softly, gently nudging Harry's ribcage.

"I'm not hungry,"

"She's right, Harry. You won't be able to battle a pixie, let alone a dragon, on an empty stomach."

"I said I'm not hungry, Hermione."

Hermione sighed and shoved a spoonful of blueberries-and-yoghurt into her mouth. Emma gave her a reassuring look, and Cormac continued stuffing his face with toast, scrambled egg and sausage.

The tension between Poppy and Celeste was inexplicably obvious. The pair had not spoken in days, and Celeste had moved from her usual seat beside her in Ancient Runes to one next to Justin Finch-Fletchely. Celeste hoped she would get to potions in time that afternoon, so as to ensnare the seat beside Draco before Poppy would have the chance to do so herself.

Neville seemed a bit put out also. Harry had told Celeste that during the train journey to Hogwarts at the start of that year, Neville had confided in him of his feelings for Warwick. It was only natural that Neville looked so blue. Luna, oddly enough, had appeared to have stopped talking to Poppy completely, which must have been extremely awkward, especially as the pair shared a room.

"Champions, Mr. Barty Crouch wishes to see you all in the Champions Tent immediately. Please, follow me," Professor Dumbledore called, standing in front of the large, wooden doors. Reluctantly, Harry got to his feet, and walked toward Albus at a steady pace.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Emma said once Harry was out of earshot. "Didn't you two say he hasn't got a plan?" Hermione and Celeste shook their heads in response.

"Draco thinks he won't last five minutes, but I think Harry will do great. He's always managed to escape dangerous situations before, and I'm sure he will again today." Poppy contributed.

Celeste's blood felt as though it had turned to ice when she'd mentioned his name. "Excuse me," she said abruptly, practically running from the great hall.

She was vaguely aware of someone following after her, but she ran faster - to where, she did not know. She just needed to get away, away from Poppy, away from Malfoy. It was all so toxic, so difficult -

\- and then she found herself running straight into a dishevelled Draco Malfoy, who was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Oh, did your Potter send you to turn me into a ferret again, Starborne?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"Have you seen Warwick? I have something I want to give her." He smirked.

"No, I was looking for her myself," Celeste lied through her teeth, and smiled sweetly. "Wanted to check our plans were still on for Hogsmeade this weekend."

"Don't be pathetic, Starborne," Malfoy scoffed. "You and I both know you haven't spoken in weeks." He grabbed the neckline of her robes and pulled her close, so his lips grazed her ears when he spoke his next few words: " _Give it up,_ " he hissed.

"Celeste! There you are!" Ron yelled, bending over from lack of breath. Celeste pulled away from Malfoy aggressively, with a cold glare.

"Ron, what are you doing?" She said as the trio skulked away.

"I saw you running from the great hall. Did McLaggen say something? I swear to god, I'll deck him."

"No, Ron, it wasn't him. Forget it. Let's go to the stands, shall we?"

"Alright, sure," Ron smiled, his eyebrows disappearing underneath his red and gold woolly hat. Celeste laughed, and the pair linked arms.

The Tournament organisers really had picked a cold day for this trial. The ice situation had only just been resolved by Hagrid and his magical Fire-Ants, and a fine frost lined the air. Celeste quickly regretted not bringing her hat and mittens with her to the stadium.

Celeste was somewhat glad that it had been Ron to come after her and not one of the others. Ron wasn't the type to ask questions that she didn't want to answer, and things were never intense between them. He was definitely one of her most valued friends, and she couldn't face any of the others after the Great Hall incident...

The tournament went pretty slowly. Each time that a new dragon was brought into the small arena, Ron would swiftly identify it, telling Celeste some obscure fact about them that he had learned from his brother Charlie in Romania. Celeste herself was sick with worry, and by the time Harry finally emerged from the tent, she was surprised that she still possessed enough sanity to listen to Ron's drabble. Even he went silent when the canon was shot.

Nobody expected it when Harry summoned his broomstick - and nobody expected it when the dragon broke free of her chains.

As the Dragon chased after Harry, headed in the direction of the castle, Celeste found herself vomiting off the barrier, hearing the disgusted yelp's of some first years below that had probably been splashed. He could die. Harry could be dead right now, and she could do nothing but sit in this arena and wait.

It felt as though hours had passed when Harry finally returned, alone, to the arena, collected his golden egg, and ended his trial.

"I understand now," Ron said in awe, as he and Celeste snuck into the Gryffindor common room for Harry's after party. The Fat Lady had given her a disgusted look, but once Ron had promised to listen to her entire rendition of some obscure opera, she gladly obliged. Upon entering, Celeste wondered idly just how many students had made that exact same promised.

The Gryffindor common room was an ocean of red, yellow, green and blue, as friends of Harry's from each house smothered him with congratulatory comments.

"Understand what?" Celeste said, accepting the chocolate frog that Neville handed her with a wide smile of thanks.

"That Harry would have to be bloody off his rocker to put his name in that Goblet."

"Well, you should talk to him, then!" She exclaimed, pushing Ron in Harry's direction. "He's missed you a lot."

Celeste smiled at the prospect of the pair rekindling their friendship as she placed herself between Loreli and Emma on the sofa. Loreli's usually straight, dark brown hair had been curled and pinned up in a graceful ponytail, while Emma had opted for a beautiful french-plait.

"Where's Cormac?" Celeste asked, taking another bite out of her chocolate frog.

"He said something about asking Harry if there were any places in the Quidditch team," she said, sipping her mug of butterbeer and looking into the fireplace. "Are you okay? We haven't seen you since breakfast, and Poppy says you weren't in potions."

"Yeah, um, didn't feel up to it. Felt a bit sick and stuff. Probably food poisoning."

"Perhaps you should go and see Madame Pomfrey," Tara smirked into her tea.

"Okay, alright, I have a thing going on with Malfoy and he's trying to make me jealous, there you go, but can we please just not talk about it right now? Who knows where he's lurking."

"I do hope you ladies aren't talking about me," Speak of the devil. "Poppy and I just wanted to speak to you all briefly. She thought it would be the wisest option." Celeste noticed his arm tighten around her waist.

"We've - We've made it official. I'm not asking for your, um, approval or anything, I just, I thought you should hear it from us instead of from rumours you don't know to be true. I'm happy. I hope you're also happy for me."

Loreli's eyes were fixed on Draco throughout the entire speech. Sly little bastard... she knew just what he was up to.

"That's great," Emma offered a bleak smile. "That's, um, really lovely."

"Yeah... congratulations." Loreli faked a smile in Poppy's direction.

"...Celeste?" Poppy said uncertainly, after an awkward pause.

"Brilliant," She said, smiling at the couple warmly. "I'm so happy for you both. You make a lovely couple."

A look of relief flooded over Poppy's face as she mouthed an inaudible "thank you" to her friend. Celeste smiled bleakly in response as the pair walked away hand in hand, imagining all the ways in which she could offer Draco a most painful death.

"There's my favourite g-girl!" Harry hiccupped, perching himself upon Starborne's lap. He appeared to have drunken one too many glasses of firewhiskey.

Loreli rolled her eyes. "I'm going to the library. Emma?"

"Sure thing. See you later, Celeste. Harry,"

"Goodbye!" Harry shouted cheerfully, resulting in a few cranky grumbles from Loreli.

Harry had knotted his tie around his head in a Rambo-like fashion, and was sporting a few love-bites on his neck already, no doubt from that Ravenclaw bitch Cho Chang. His green eyes sparkled like enchanted forests in the warm light of the fire, and he looked the happiest he had in weeks. Positioned in his lap was the golden egg he had acquired in the tournament.

"You make me confused." Harry said, finally.

"Confused?"

"You just, sometimes you look at me and it's like, woah, and I love you like a best-friend and stuff, but then I see you with Malfoy, or Ron, or Neville, or Justin, and I get so angry...I don't know what's wrong with me, I just know, I know I need to do this..."

In less than a second, Harry had cleared the space between them, cupping her face with his hand. His eyelids fluttered before finally closing, his thick, dark lashes tickling his reddened cheeks. Before she knew it, they were kissing.

Everything was silent.

It was as though nothing existed but them, not Draco, not Cho, not Ginny. Harry was real, and with each kiss he made her feel alive, like she was more than just a sad story.

He made her feel as though she mattered.


End file.
